Last weekend JJ Abrams Star Trek movie led the Spike Scream Awards with six wins based on Internet voting. Today The People’s Choice Awards opened their nomination process with Star Trek already listed in most of the movie categories. Details on that below, plus Star Trek at the Hollywood Film Festival and even more Star Trek Oscar Buzz.

Is Star Trek The People’s Choice?Star Trek is the #5 movie at the domestic box office, but does that mean it is the 5th most liked film of the year? Maybe not, a poll at IMDB at the end of the Summer had Star Trek ranked first as the "most deserving movie to open at #1", as as noted before, it led the field with the Spike online voting, including top SciFi film and ‘Scream of the Year’.

So can Star Trek win the popularity contest of the People’s Choice Awards? Perhaps, but first it has to get nominated. Today The People’s Choice Awards opened up their nomination process. For each category they have 12 choices of potential nominees (and they allow write ins). You can select up to five choices for each category and there are Star Trek choices in six categories:

Fans are even being given the chance to choose the new People’s Choice statue (see choices below). The top five nominees in each category will be announced Nov. 10 and the Award Show will be broadcast live on CBS on January 6th (hosted by Queen Latifah).

Star Trek at Hollywood Movie AwardsThe Hollywood Films Festival being held this weekend has its own popularity contest. You can vote for Star Trek as the ‘Hollywood Movie of the Year Award’ at Yahoo. Currently Star Trek is trailing the latest Harry Potter film by just 1%. The Hollywood Film Festival will be handing out some more non popularity contest style awards, including giving the new Mr. Spock, Zachary Quinto a ‘Hollywood Spotlight Award.’ Congrats Zach!

Oscar Buzzwatch
Of course all of these popular awards are just prelims to the major leagues of award season starting off with the Golden Globes and Guild Awards and leading to the Academy Awards. It is expected that Star Trek will be nominated in some of the ‘technical awards’ (special effects, sound editing, etc), but what about the biggies? As reported here over the summer, the Motion Picture Academy changed the rules this year to allow for 10 films to go into nomination for Best Picture, opening up some immediate Oscar buzz for Star Trek (and even more buzz later). Nominations wont be until next year, but people are still talking Star Trek. Recently the popular blog HitFix handicapped the 2010 Oscar contenders, here is their entry for Star Trek:

Pros: It was a word of mouth phenomenon that silenced all naysayers by winning over audiences and critics alike. Its success has director J.J. Abrams being touted as the next Steven Spielberg and created a number of new potential screen stars including Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana.

Cons: Besides the fact its science fiction you can’t ignore its also “Star Trek.” Those words may still have a very negative connotation with the Academy. Is the membership really comfortable with placing a film with that title next to their all time greats? Even as a nominee?

And coming full circle USA Today is running a poll for you to vote on what is your favorite Oscar hopeful, and Star Trek is in 3rd place, just behind Disney’s Up and Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds.

Star Trek wins Digital Advertising Award
In other awards, Paramount’s marketing team has picked up another award for its promotion of Star Trek. In xxx we reported they won a Golden Trailer and last week the they were honored at the Digital Movie Advertising Showcase Awards for their online campaign. Specifically they won for Best Theatical Rich Media Advertising (see all the nominees below). Kudos to the Paramount Interactive team. More details at DoubleClick Blog.

Harry – may I call you Harry? What if a guy named Oscar head nods in the general direction of a Trek BD? It’s not as snazzy as an award, which the movie deserves, but I think it’d make for an Oscar nod of a sort…

Harry #1 I’d be surprised, but not totally shock if “Star Trek” were nominated for best film… Thus far 2009 has been a very weak year for quality films. Keep in mind that the Academy has extended the number of films in the best film category from five to ten in an attempt to win back some of the audience it has lost over the years. It seems the ratings for the Oscars have been slipping of late mainly due to the fact that there have been very few popular titles nominated for best film. While films like “Milk”, “Frost/Nixon” and “The Reader” may have been great films, they didn’t generate enough popular interest to boost the ratings and we all know that networks don’t like to pay big money to broadcast the Oscars only to see their audience slip away. Many people felt that popular films such as “The Dark Night” and “Wall-E” were neglected because they weren’t the usual stuffy type of films that the Academy prefers. With that in mind I think “Star Trek” stands a reasonable chance of being nominated. The Academy will without question throw a bone or two to a couple of “popular films” this Oscar season… Isn’t that the reason they expanded from five films to ten? Of the films that came out in the first part of the year “UP” is a shoe in to be nominated for best film. It’s a well done film that won’t upset the sensibilities of the… Read more »

The way Oscars go, It’s likely to win some easy awards, like sight and sound stuff, but you know those are just suck up awards, no one had the guts to vote for something that does not relate to a hollyweed lifestyle, nor does it counter anything that the bible dislikes. Now if the guy who thinks he is president would have said do not go, and millions went, it would be as the first film to be nominated that year. And if the president had strong moral values and the film countered them, it would have all ready been voted #1 before any ballats or votes were made. Now if STM#13 in 2112 gave a big promo for do what ever you have to do with no need for government aid, and getting any of their aid would screw up you idea instantly. You know what would be said (in case you don’t…it’s with out them you’ll get no where). Since it would be anti government it’s got almost Oscar of the year written on it. It’s nice that it seems to automatically win other awards. But these other awards are hear because many films and stories never reach the Upper Harvard Class Ivy Leagues so how can they win if the stuffed shirts never, and if you can not get so board you fall asleep in the middle how is those stuffed shirts going to like the movie. It seems Oscars are voted upon by the upper 10%… Read more »

I’m continually surprised by how so many people posting on a Star Trek site have to find excuses to justify why the film MAY be considered for an Oscar nomination. “It was a weak year for quality films….so it has a chance.” “Maybe it’ll will get technical awards.”

C’mon. It was one of the rare films that was actually a critical darling and a box office success. Why shouldn’t it be considered simply on it’s own merits?

Will it win? Unlikely…because of the envy and spitefullness in Hollywood. (Success for others = less opportunity or control for me.) I’ve felt that way since the 70’s when Jaws and Star Wars didn’t win because…IMHO…they were too successful for TPTB. Most recent example, Dark Knight not even getting nominated! Travesty!

But still, with the new nonimation proceedures in place, Star Trek is absolutely deserving of a nomination. And we should stop making excuses for it. Maybe by voting for it in the lead-up awards, we’ll drive some momentum and awareness so the bigger, more prestigious awards will have to take notice.

Please remember ST has always been about Gene Roddenberry’s hope for the future. Remember that a lot of the “Old Guard” is done and gone. Billy Mummy is a voting member now (he has even written a few ST Comic books). Star Trek has never clamed to be perfect, but it has also been a mirror to current events and asked the question, “Can we do better?” The Academy likes films with a message, here is a franchise that has been leaving a message, and people have been listening! I would much rather see ST be recognized than (sorry but) Transformers or Terminator!

I am glad to hear that Star Trek is up there for some People Choice nominations. I would be kind of ticked off if Star Trek did not get some noms.. for best special effects by the Academey. Of course the Oscars half the time are full shit on who is nominated and who wins. I am still pissed off from last year that The Dark Knight and Gran Torino were not up there for best films of the year and Clint Eastwood for best actor nod.

I’m totally with you Voodoo. Pretty exciting stuff! Who would have thought when they announced ST09 that we’d ever be talking about it as a possible Best Picture contender. How far we’ve come and what a testimate to the cast and crew!

#27–Hat Rick, do you not find almost comedic irony in your statement there? (“If Trek doesn’t win some serious awards, there is no God.”)…considering Gene Roddenberry was a devout humanist and viciously hated religion and the whole inherent concept of Star Trek was in part a future where “mankind was free of religion’?

ANTHONY DO NOT TRY TO WARN ME FOR SO-CALLED TROLLING, as I am merely stating what Gene Roddenberry believed as it can be well-verified…

I just saw the trailer for Cameron’s “Avatar” it looks massive and very Oscar worthy… Bad news for ST’s nomination hopes. The Academy will only choose one or two of these type films.

When you consider who is directing “Avatar” and the supposedly revolutionary way it was shot I think the Academy would lean more in Avatar’s direction given a choice of the two… On the other hand nobody has even seen “Avatar” yet to know if it is truly Oscar worthy.